BUSAN — The city of Busan will pay holiday allowances to about 27,000 households of seniors living alone and expand aid to social welfare facilities and vulnerable groups ahead of Chuseok, the Korean autumn harvest holiday.
The city said it has designated the period from the 9th through the 23rd, the day before the Chuseok holiday begins, as an intensive campaign period for what it calls a "warm Chuseok" drive.
Senior city officials and all departments at city hall and its field offices will deliver donations and goods to about 80 social welfare facilities in the city. Busan will also cover the cost of ancestral ritual tables at four shelters for homeless people, allowing residents who cannot travel to their hometowns to hold joint rites at the facilities.
Each of the roughly 27,000 households of seniors living alone will receive 50,000 won in holiday support. The city said the payments are intended to ease living costs for older single-person households, who are more likely to be left out during the holiday season.
Private organizations are also stepping up. The Busan branch of the Community Chest of Korea has set aside a total of 1.2 billion won in special living expenses, including 100,000 won each for 11,300 low-income vulnerable households and 35 million won for each of two counseling centers serving residents of tiny single rooms known as jjokbang.
The Busan chapter of the Korean Red Cross will provide nutritional rice sets worth 28,000 won each to 2,362 low-income households, for a total of about 66.1 million won.
Busan's 16 districts and counties have each drawn up their own Chuseok sharing plans for vulnerable groups and residents in their areas.
"I ask for the strong interest and cooperation of our citizens so that vulnerable members of our society can feel warmth this Chuseok," Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said.
